Tag: #meals

BODILY SHIFT: HOW THE BODY SHOWS YOU HOW TO CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE

appetizer, close-up, cucumber

“Nourishment for our bodies.”

CREATURES OF THE EARTH

Throughout history humans have found means of feeding ourselves that could aid in our continued existence on this planet. And eating animals were one of those means because there were so many people to feed. But as time progress, do we still need to eat the animals that we have always eaten? Maybe not as much as we think because everything is so enhanced. The enhancement has made eating certain foods unhealthy for the human body. Even some of our plants and fruits are genetically modified for our liking. But still, the plants we eat are more healthy for us than the meat we consume. So we have to find ways of getting the most in us that contribute to our health.

TASTE GOOD TO US, NOT GOOD FOR US

When your body gives you signs you have to listen to the signals that your body gives you. So for example, when you are starting to have health related problems due to certain food and beverage choices, then you have to make a shift. And trust me, I know; coming from an African American community, we love our foods. But it’s these same foods that put our ethnic group at such a high risk for illnesses: (Click the listed items below to view the website stats.)

  1. High Blood Pressure
  2. Hypertension
  3. Sickle Cell Anemia (not directly associated with food, but we’re at higher risk)
  4. Diabetes
  5. Stroke

So with the listed above sicknesses you can attain, you have to work overtime, especially if you are of an ethnic group prone to certain sicknesses. That means settling for baked over fried foods, and drinking more water over acidic beverages.

WHAT SHALL WE BE DOING

As for our meals, the daily intake should consist of something fresh in the morning: eggs, cereal, sometimes bacon, oatmeal, and apple or orange juice. The lunch should consist of a salad, and if it has chicken in it, baked Caesar Salad. And when you eat dinner, that entree shall be something alone the lines of rice, beans, cabbage, cornbread, collard greens (with less salt and sugars), corn (no pepper or salt), and some form of meat, but baked. Frying your food can be hard to digest through the system. Now, don’t forget to try to incorporate some type of exercise in your daily activities. For me, I will walk to work when the temperature allows me, which in a day can easily be 10 miles. So for me, I am turning a new leaf in 2018, how about you.

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LIFESTYLE CHANGES: CHANGING THE FOOD WE EAT

appetite, apple, close-up

“Your body is a machine, keep it clean.”

Recently, I have been thinking about making a lifestyle change regarding the food I consume. And it’s not because my health is bad, I just would like to try something new. I thought about trying a raw diet or even becoming a pescetarian for a while. I love eating seafood, so becoming a pescetarian would actually be easy. But since I was a baby I have had a diet that consisted of eating meat. And to add to it, it’s part of the culture that I grew up in as a child. Meat was so part of our daily intake, I don’t know if I could give it up at all. But some people have never even had meat a day in their lives. It was just how they were raised. But not me, I grew up in a family that we had more meat than side dishes.

Now if you’re one of these animal lovers, then you would hate to be apart of my family. But just because you eat meat does not mean you hate animals. As people on Earth we have had to survive off of the land as much as possible. That includes any creature that inhabited the land. And given we had to feed so many people, animals were the meal. But vegetarians and pescetarianism has been an aspect of society for forever. You just now have this wave of people who are going back to eating less meat. And it does not have anything to do with preserving the animals on our planet. It has everything to do with health. When eating meat you have a digestive tract that consist of thin lining. And meat pushing through that track is hard to digest. So eating too much meat, especially the tougher the meat, makes digesting more difficult.

Now, with digestive problems comes illnesses because meat lying in the tract for too long causes problems in the intestines. Over time, you start to develop sicknesses because the meat is basically rotting inside of your body. So people have become aware of this and have made moves to eat less meat if any at all. It just makes sense considering we want to prolong our lives as much as possible because this is our only life to live. And caring for yourselves is what we must do for longevity. There is no guarantee, some people eat healthy and still die of sicknesses. But the point is to care anyways because it’s about playing the odds. And in the end, my thoughts of changing my dining choices comes from better eating habits. I just turned thirty years old last week. This is best time to start eating differently because staring later in your forties could be too late.

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EAT TO YOUR HEART CONTENT: HOW WE BINGE ON DAYS LIKE TODAY AND MEANING BEHIND IT

Image result for 4TH OF JULY

“Comfort food is the best food.”

Today is the 4th of July, marking the 241st year that the Declaration of Independence was signed. But this topic today is not about the celebration. Today’s topic is about all the food that will be consumed from cookouts today. We all look forward to the holidays because it gives us an excuse to binge on all the food we want to eat. As a kid growing up, my mother would take my sister and I to the parade. We would sit there until the parade was nearly over, then head to the cookout at a family member’s house. And you can just about guess the food that lined the picnic tables.

I’m talking all kinds of good eating: Catfish, meatballs, fried chicken, baked chicken, pork chops, meatloaf, turkey, honey ham, brats, BBQ ribs, collard greens, macaroni and cheese, cabbage, sweet rolls, black eyed peas, mashed Related imagepotatoes, fried okra, yams, sweet potatoes, corn bread. The meat would be smothered in two to three types of gravy; soda, Kool aid, juice, sweet tea, some brews, and water would be the beverages of choice. And it didn’t stop there, you can’t forget about the desserts: banana pudding, chocolate pies, sweet potato pie, lemon pies, egg pies, German chocolate cake, pound cake, and ice cream.

The above food was the meals my family would consume on this holiday. But now that I am an adult, I don’t look at the holidays the same anymore. Not that they are not important, it’s just that living on my own, cooking on these days are not as special. I could always go to visit family, yet it’s not the same. Now most would say, start your own family. But I am far from ready for a family of my own. I think back to when I was growing up and the meals the family would have together. As time went on, people married, moved away, and some even passed away. Now, it seems far less special as when I was young.

And I guess that’s why these once great times to eat together have changed. There were children that used to fill the premises, and adults as well. But eating as a family, especially on holidays takes on new meanings. That Image result for soul food desserts banana puddingfeeling of being stuffed and sitting back with your pants zipper undone is not quite there anymore. Now the portions have gotten cut down because we have to live after the cookout. Fewer children and more teens who themselves are thinking about moving outside the home town for college. So now, there are middle aged to elderly adults left.

 

 

And in the end, the 4th of July reminds me of the great meals as a child. The firework show, even consuming small portions of leftovers the next day. You know, I never looked at the 4th as an Independence holiday, rather a special day family came together to have a feast.

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FOOD, A TRUE ROMANCE!

Image result for SMORGASBORD

“EAT UP!”

Growing up in my house we always had a lot of food in the refrigerator. Sometimes the door would have a hard time closing because of the food. Yet the only person of my three sisters and I it affected was my mother. Why, well she had to work all day and come home to sleep. We were young and active so the weight didn’t stick. So how do you deal with this; eating is such a natural action. We need food to live, so it can be an addiction that’s tough to kick. Now, as for me, I’ve always had this true romance with food. But, unlike some guys who eat and are couch potatoes, I am active. I have always been since childhood, so the weight doesn’t stick.

But, what about the people who have had so many issues with their weight. Some people are genetically predisposed to gaining weight unlike others. For them, they have to look from afar at all the goodness. Because I’ll eat from a buffet and i’m fine tomorrow. The other guy will need to hire a personal trainer to drop the pounds. Now does that mean I’m a special case, no. It could mean I don’t put on weight as easy. Or, it could also mean that my weight gain could happen later on in life. Now, with all the goodness that food brings, there are just so many sicknesses, even with a guy like me. That’s right a guy that doesn’t gain weight as easy.

It’s not all about how much you eat. It could be what you’re eating as well. As a child even though I didn’t put on the weight, I ate a lot of non-healthy food. Now that I am close 30 years of age, I think more about it. Some people don’t think about their health until later on life. So for me, observing my lifestyle at such a young age is more responsible that not. Another reason for me not eating a certain way is because being African American, we’re already inclined to getting sicknesses outside of food related. So for that reason alone we must watch what we eat as a group. So, in addition to the food you eat, it’s very important to exercise in your daily life. For me, I perform a lot of walking around the city of New York.

In the end, there is nothing wrong with eating good food, just in moderation. See, for me it’s tough because of the family I grew up in and the region of the country. Growing up in the Midwest, there are restaurants everywhere. But I also have Southern roots as well. So for me, I’ll go back home and see people, young people, struggling with weight due to food consumption. Even with so much love for something tasty and delicious, I’ll always have the idea of health in the back of my mind.